Nobody Knows
by The Lady of the Willows
Summary: The Kazekage gave the order for Gaara's execution. Temari ran away with her two brothers to prevent his death. The Sand Siblings must survive together, because they have but each other. Featuring: Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara
1. Prologue

**Nobody Knows**

**Prologue **

When the Kazekage had deemed Gaara too much of a liability and a great mistake, he brought the topic up to his advisors. Although Gaara had the potential to become a great asset, he was too unstable to confirm his loyalties. In fact, no one was sure of whether he even felt any loyalties to anyone but himself. An execution was ordered. The victim would be Subaku no Gaara, youngest child of the Kazekage.

What no one had thought would happen was that nine-year-old Temari would run off with her two siblings, Kankuro and Gaara. She had overheard the discussions about her brother and the risks he supposedly brought with his being alive. While there were few outwardly seen familial relations amongst the three, Temari had been like a mother more than anyone else. Their true mother had died in childbirth. Like a mother, Temari had decided she would protect her children. Furthermore, they were her brothers. She would not allow either of them to be taken away and killed. Three days before the scheduled execution, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara disappeared from their home in Suna.

Kankuro and Gaara were quiet as Temari made decisions for their future. Already, Gaara was learning to despise everything while Kankuro was becoming accustomed to feeling lonely. The eldest had explained the situation vaguely to both of her siblings, while taking pains to hide the tell-tale black hair of the middle child and the red hair of the youngest by having them all wear hoods, but Gaara's dislike of others only grew while Kankuro felt lonelier. Yet they both understood she was doing what she thought best and that they had no choice but to flee. At the youthful ages of eight and six, both Kankuro and Gaara trusted her completely.

But they feared this journey.

It was for different reasons, and not all of them would readily admit to their fears.

Gaara nearly voiced his fear but a small group of ninja happened to come upon the three. They wore the symbol of the sand, but nothing more was known to identify them. The strange ninja attacked the children, so Gaara killed them. He had never been permitted to kill so freely before, but he learned quickly. Temari's hand froze on the fan she had started to pull from behind her back and Kankuro uneasily clenched a fist over his invisible puppet strings as they watched their brother kill with a savage eagerness. After the sand drew back into the gourd Gaara carried, he remembered and savored the blood and the thrill. It was possibly the beginning of the nightmare his father had feared would begin from him.

Temari shook her blonde head at the blood-soaked sand around them and then dragged her brothers away from the scene.

After leaving the familiar sands, none of the children were sure of where to go. The best choice would have been Konoha, because the climate there was a better transition from the hot land of their home. However, that Country of Fire was fairly organized. People would be sure to find out who these three runaways were precisely. Eventually, Temari decided on the more chaotic Country of Snow. It would be cold and unusual, but unexpected.

And so their trek began.


	2. Chapter One: Leaving the Sand

**Chapter One: Leaving the Sand**

"Temari," started a tired voice.

"Yes, Kankuro?" replied Temari. She poked the camel she was riding. It lazily yawned and walked on in the direction she was guiding it. Gaara was in front of her, carrying his gourd in his lap. Kankuro rode on another camel, next to Temari, with a pack of equipment.

"How far will we have to go?"

"Until we get out of the sands," said the blonde solemnly.

"I like sand," remarked Gaara.

The female turned to her youngest brother. "We all like sand, but the people who live in the sand do not like us."

There was a pause in the conversation as the two camels plodded on with the valuable burden on their backs.

"Temari?" started the red-haired child impulsively as an idea came to his head.

"Yes?"

Gaara took a deep breath in and then said, "If we kill them, we could live here instead of them and we could still like sand." Both camels stopped abruptly when Temari and Kankuro pulled the reins sharply in surprise. The elder boy cringed at the suggestion and looked to his sister for guidance. Temari exchanged nervous glances with the puppeteer before turning to the youngest. Aware of the sudden change in atmosphere, Gaara added in a shaky voice, "Right?"

Unsure of what to say, neither of the other two spoke. The sky changed colors and shades as they waited. Finally, it was Temari who spoke.

"There is a cave over there. It is convenient, and we should take the opportunity to rest."

* * *

It was evening when Temari woke up. She looked around her to make sure all was well. Kankuro was sleeping, with his hood still on. His puppet lay beside him, next to the wall of the cave. Gaara, awake but trying to be normal, was lying on his back between her and Kankuro. The sand gourd was on the ground beside his red head, but one hand was extended above his head and touching it, as though the gourd could offer comfort. What gear they had brought was in a pile near Temari. A little further towards the entrance, two camels were resting. 

The Sand female was still thinking about what Gaara had said before, and it worried her. She knew that he had been serious. Such a bloody suggestion… and he felt it could work. Though it was true that the child was only six, he had matured fairly quickly. It might have been partially because he never slept and so had a bit of time advantage over others his age, but still! For a child of six to suggest they kill everyone else so that the three siblings might inhabit the land in peace… she had to talk to him.

"Gaara, are you awake?" she asked needlessly, knowing the answer already.

The response was quick in coming. "I am always awake." The sentence was spoken sadly.

"I was thinking about what you said earlier," said the girl softly, not wishing to wake up her other brother and deprive him of rest. "Do you understand why we left?"

The excited, though tired, eyes seemed to catch some of the half-light. "Because they hate me."

She leaned back slightly, surprised at his bluntness. "They do not hate you. They just… do not understand."

"They hate me," persisted Gaara. "And I hate them, too."

"I---"

"Do you understand?" he asked, staring at her with his oculi that never closed for sleep.

Temari took his hand in hers and stroked it in a comforting manner. "I try to." There was a short silence, filled in only by the sound of Kankuro's soft breathing.

The insomniac lingered in his sister's touch for a few moments before pulling away. "You can go back to sleep. I will guard both of you."

* * *

In the Country of Snow, a young boy named Haku was training with his master, Zabuza. At the moment, he was practicing needle throwing. His rabbit, named Rabbit, was sitting at the side of the training area, watching him. He stopped the training temporarily to go and pick up the needles. While doing this, nine-year-old Haku contemplated what life as a rabbit would be like. Mayhap, as this rabbit. Rabbit would be the one training and he would be the one sitting at the side. Then, he returned his thoughts to the needle throwing and hit the targets again. He wanted to be able to help Zabuza with his future plans, and such things could not be accomplished by wishful thoughts. 

That night, the boy carried his rabbit outside into the snow as usual and sat down with it. The white fell around them and onto them, but neither minded. To both the human and rabbit, the cold was something to be enjoyed, not feared. Haku stroked the rabbit on his lap, drawing his fingers slowly through the white fur. It twitched slightly, and he stopped for a moment to sit back and look up at the sky.

"What is it like to be a rabbit?" asked Haku after a few moments. These talks were customary for the two; it was always Haku and Rabbit together. Since the boy had been orphaned at an early age, he had become attached to the rabbit when she had hopped to him and stayed.

_"It is much like being a human,"_ replied Rabbit telepathically into Haku's mind. It was a kind, feminine voice, though very childish.

Haku nodded, satisfied with the remark. The long-eared creature hopped off Haku's lap into the snow and nuzzled his hand. "Do you think I did well today?" questioned Haku, as he reached over to pet the rabbit.

She was a bit longer in replying this time, first settling into the comfortable hand before responding. _"Yes, you certainly did well." _

He smiled and looked out into the distance. "I want to become better. I want to become as good as I can become, so I can help Zabuza. You will help me, right?"

Rabbit was silent for a moment. _"As always, Haku."_

"What is it like to love someone?"

If the rabbit had been a human, she would have clasped her hands in soundless contemplation as she sought to explain the complicated feeling. It was indeed difficult, but she attempted to give a vague explanation. _"When you love someone, you want to make their dreams come true. It is someone special you seek to protect. You feel you are worth something… and you feel wanted. I think that is love."_

"I love Zabuza," continued the boy quietly. "I am worth something to him. I want to help him to make his dreams come true." The snow covered another layer over the ground in the time the two spent thinking. Suddenly, he asked a question. "Do you love anyone, Rabbit?"

_"Only you, Haku." _

* * *

When Kankuro was very young, he rarely saw his family. At approximately the age of four, the instructors discovered he had a skill and passion for puppetry, so he was sent to live in a different area of the palace to train with some puppeteers. Temari stayed in her own section of the stone palace they called home. She visited him sometimes, but not very often. She was busy training as well. Gaara was kept in seclusion, and was rarely seen by either of his siblings. In early years, a small ghost with red hair and strange eyes would wander through the halls of the palace at night, when no one was about. Their father was distant to them. He was a formal and strict man, mostly busy with the work from his position. Even by his children, he was called the Kazekage instead of anything more familiar, such as "Father". 

Kankuro did not see anyone else, for most of the time. Training was very intensive their home village of Suna, especially for children of the Kazekage. The servants were almost nonexistent. They left only meals and clean rooms to mark their presence. Their entire lives--- all three of the Kazekage's children's--- had been with only one goal: training them for the benefit of the village. There had been fewer ninja trained in the Country of Wind in the last few years, meaning that the individual strength of each ninja had to be increased.

He had not left much behind when he ran off to help protect his brother's life.

In his sleep, he dreamt of a time, a long time ago…

_"Mama!" he said to Temari. _

_"She is gone," replied his older sister. She was three and could speak more understandably. _

_"Want Mama!" he persisted. _

_"She is not here!" shouted Temari, before starting to cry and hugging her brother. _

_Out of the corner of his eye, Kankuro could see their uncle, Yashamaru, was carrying a newborn child with red hair and strange eyes. _

The scene shifted to another time, a few years later.

_"So, we should get a present for him," ended Temari. She was talking about Gaara. _

_Although Kankuro wanted to say that Gaara scared him, he was afraid of being ridiculed. So instead, he wondered aloud, "What should we get him?" He was only five, and thought that his sister was wonderful at her more experienced age of six. It was one of those times he had been permitted to leave his training, so he had taken the opportunity to find and visit with his sister so early in the afternoon. _

_"We can go look in the shops!" she said cheerfully. _

_A bit later, Temari and Kankuro proudly presented three-year-old Gaara with a teddy bear. The youngest looked at his siblings with his strange eyes, and Kankuro tried his best not to shudder. Then, Gaara put out his hands to accept the present before pulling it close and hugging it. _

The scene changed again, this time to just before they left.

_"The Kazekage has ordered that Gaara be killed," whispered Temari. "We have to stop them."_

_"We are just kids," protested Kankuro, careful to keep his voice low. "What could we do?"_

_"We should go see Gaara first," interrupted the elder._

_They crept through the halls to the place where Gaara stayed. To their shock, two bodies were on the ground. Gaara was standing in the middle of the room, hugging his bear. Sand and blood were strewn haphazardly over everything: Gaara, the bed, the bodies… Temari had a sudden fear, and she examined the tattered clothing closest to her. It belonged to Yashamaru._

_She reeled back in horror. "Gaara! What happened!"_

_The answer was simple and concise. "He tried to kill me."_

_Personally, Kankuro had never liked their uncle, but he did not say so. Instead, he asked, "What do we do now?"_

_"We have to leave," replied Temari._

From outside his dream, a whispering voice repeated in the same determined tone, "We have to leave… Kankuro. Gaara. The moon is high and bright. We must continue now."

It did not take long to roll up the bedding and collect everything. Waking up the lazy camels was easier than expected. After that, it was simply a matter of putting the packs back on the camels and starting off to the borders of the Country of Wind.

Temari picked up Gaara and placed him on her camel. She then gave a glance to Kankuro and a slight nod in the direction they would travel before climbing up behind the red-haired boy.

Kankuro looked to his siblings for a moment and wondered if they would ever be without fear of their lives, if they would ever be able to return to Suna, and, above all, if they would ever be able to have a proper family.

* * *

Author's Note: 

To iluvgaara: I put this idea into words straight out of my head. I was unaware that there was a story with similar plot around. I searched up the one you mentioned... Runaways, written by silvercage, correct? So, I read it. I believe that my plot is different from her's/his, which is, in her/his words, _"a story about Temari stepping into the role of a mother for her younger brothers"_, but if she/he believes I am writing a storyline too close to her/his plot, she/he may send me a message about her/his concerns. If silvercage does with a plausible explanation, I will take down this story.

If you have further concerns, you may address them.


End file.
